All-Area Football: Spiro’s McKinney Oklahoma Defensive Player Of Year

Wednesday

There were some things Spiro senior linebacker Cole McKinney said he wished he could have done better this season.

There were some things Spiro senior linebacker Cole McKinney said he wished he could have done better this season.

Checking on the stats, however, McKinney shouldn’t find too much fault in his performance.

For the third consecutive season, McKinney led the Bulldogs in tackles and was a major contributor for a Spiro team that reeled off eight straight wins. McKinney finished with 182 total tackles (52 unassisted) and also led the team with 13 sacks. He is the Times Record Oklahoma Defensive Player of the Year.

"Taking in the season as a whole, I feel that I played well," McKinney said. "There is always things that I can look back on and say ‘I made a mistake’ or ‘I can improve,’ but, I feel overall that I can say I had a pretty good year."

In a win against Idabel, he recorded 15 tackles and four sacks. Against Valliant, he had 20 tackles and a sack in a win that extended the Bulldogs’ streak to seven straight wins.

"He probably averaged about 15 tackles a game and in two or three games, he had over 20," Spiro coach Chris Bunch said. "He just has a knack to get to the ball."

Bunch said one of the things which made McKinney an even better player as a senior was mostly avoiding injury, as opposed to the previous two seasons.

"I feel like he stayed healthy for one thing," Bunch said. "The last two years, he kind of had a problem with his shoulder a little bit but this year, he stayed healthier and he also contributed on the offensive side of the ball a lot more, too.

"Probably the biggest thing that he improved on this season is he did a lot better job of leading, not necessarily in tackles but also being a leader on the team, he was a captain of the team and I think all of that helped him."

Of all the wins McKinney enjoyed as a senior, he said the team’s victory against Stigler in the 3A-8 opener was his most memorable. He had a team-high 14 tackles and also caught a touchdown pass in the Bulldogs’ 17-14 win.

"It was our first district game against one of our rivals," he said. "Our offense played well and our defense played together and with energy. It made for a great experience."

While McKinney turned in a stellar season at linebacker, he made sure to spread the accolades around.

"It’s a great honor but I can’t take all the credit," he said. "I couldn’t have accomplished that if it wasn’t for our defensive line. They ran every play hard and created opportunities for me to step in and make a play."

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